Send Gift Baskets to Dendermonde, Belgium

In Appels, La Tène artifacts were found, indicating this region of the Scheldt was inhabited prehistorically. During the Gallo-Roman and Merovingian periods, grave sites from the 2nd and 6th centuries are also evidence of dense settlement. As a result of the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Dendermonde became a part of Lotharingia. Following the Norman invasions of 883, Baldwin II incorporated the region into the German County of Flanders.

By building a fort in the 10th century, Otto II encouraged further settlements in the area. A thriving cloth industry helped the town proliferate after it received its charter in 1233. Several cloisters, chapels, and churches were also built, as well as a fortified defensive wall. Mid-14th-century improvements to the market square included the construction of a cloth hall and a belfry. Due to its prosperity, the town was often attacked and plundered by its neighbors and faced stiff competition from cities such as Ghent. The Valois dukes of Burgundy took control of the entire area in 1384.

There was a decline in Dendermonde’s fortunes during the 16th century. Dendermonde was conquered by William the Silent in 1572. Under Duke Alexander Farnese of Parma, Spanish troops took over the city in the same year, looted, and mostly destroyed it. A decade later, the Spaniards built their fortress between the Dender and the Scheldt. France attempted to attack the city in 1667 but was forced back when the defenders opened the dikes and flooded the countryside. Under the Duke of Marlborough, allied troops from the Netherlands and England caused the most damage. The Austrians then thwarted further French ambitions by fortifying the city. The city could finally breathe after a final siege by Louis XV, which led to its dismantling a few decades later.